BARUG NewsAUGUST 2002The Chairman writes:
The last two month's meetings...Summer meetings have certainly brought variety. Kate and David Crennel's presentation in June brought what must be a unique combination of specialist virtuosity, with a history of applications going back to the Beeb. They address a range of interests : their simulations of bell ringing include both visual and acoustic effects and reflect a depth of knowledge of the practical art of campanology. A survey of available Fortran packages highlighted pros and cons of those for use on RISC OS, and of course their well known graphical programs allow illustrating and cut-out 3D modelling of geometric solids. You can find out even more - including family history programs - at www.argonet.co.uk/users/fortran! Our thanks go to them for coming to share their interest with us. In July, a small group reached Yeovilton to accept the invitation of Graham Mottram and the Wessex Club to one of their meetings. The July session took the form of an informal wide ranging discussion among members - against a background of try-outs and demonstrations of software that members thought worth bringing along, notably TEK, and the A5000 simulator running on a PC portable. The visit also permitted a tour of the Fleet Air Arm Museum which is well worth a visit. The Museum's big day is on 21st Sept - see www.yeoviltonairday.co.uk Our thanks go to WAUG for their invitation.
This month's meeting...This fortuitously leads to our 28th August meeting. The idea of relying more extensively on our own resources for monthly meetings has been highlighted in the past, with several presentations by members. A more communal approach following the example of Wessex seems worth trying. To provide a focus for the evening, an initial agenda includes :
There will be a machine or two for demonstrations Do come along ... and contribute .. and hopefully learn !
Other stuff...We have received a couple of copies of Paul Beverly's new magazine "Living with Technology". The format is similar to Archive and topics range widely - from Solar water heating to home networking. Ask if you wish to see a copy." The Secretary continues: The August meeting will take place at the usual venue and at the usual time of 19.30, on Wednesday 28 August. I have been back in contact with Chris Hornby of Photodesk about progress on the USB cards and drivers for USB digital cameras. He replied to the effect 'expected real soon now', which is good news for me as I'm about to go on holiday in Canada, from whence I expect to return with several hundred digital photos, so the thought of downloading them through the serial port isn't appealing.... Speaking of downloading photographs, if my memory serves me correctly there was a newsgroup posting recently from Surftec, who market parallel port card readers for CompactMedia and SmartMedia, and RISC OS drivers for them. The posting announced a price reduction but warned that Surftec was about to place a 'last order' for parallel port devices, so potential buyers should now place their order. Surftec also suggested that next year they will launch a USB version of their card readers.
Finally......the newsletter is YOUR newsletter. If you have suggestions for items to be included, or items to sell/items wanted, or need advice, please email me or contact me by phone (office phone 0117 913 1216). Best wishes for the summer holidays
Steve |